The anonymity afforded a Mr. Smith is a boon to the Nebraska Republican, who would much rather spend his time advancing local agricultural concerns than being called on to take a position on national issues. He sponsors few bills, he has spoken on the floor for less than six minutes total during the 113th Congress and his sole national exposure was giving one of the GOP’s weekly radio addresses — in 2008. Smith got his start in local politics at 23, when he won a city council seat in Gering but kept his small-town style when he moved to the state legislature and then the House.

As co-chairman of the Congressional Rural Caucus and member of the Ways and Means Committee, he has fixed his legislative focus firmly on the effect of the tax code on rural communities and the opportunity to promote agricultural exports out of his vast western Nebraska district. Smith doesn’t have to pay much attention to anywhere outside his home turf, where his family has lived for generations.

He also doesn’t have to pay much attention to campaigning — he won his seat in 2006 by a double-digit margin and hasn’t fallen below 70 percent in his three subsequent elections.